Free and fast – two words that’ll make most travellers smile when talking about inflight wi-fi.
It’d be nice if it was ‘free and fast air travel’ right?
But no, this time we’re talking Qantas’ free and fast wi-fi, which is scheduled to start rolling out across the airline’s domestic fleet soon.
In a product update, the airline said its Flight Operations and Engineering teams are looking at how they can use inflight connectivity to improve aspects of flying beyond Instagram and live sport.
For example, they’re trying to find a way for it to reduce turbulence.
Uhh wi-fi to ease turbulence? How?
Qantas said: At the moment, pilots download the latest weather maps on their iPads just before takeoff.
They also have on-board radar to help them track storms as well as getting any major updates via radio.
Having internet in the cockpit takes this to the next level.
Pilots can stream richer information on real-time weather conditions expected along the flight path. They can use this to dodge areas of turbulence and make better use of tailwinds to reduce flying time.
Engineers are also looking at way of using Qantas’ inflight wi-fi for real-time maintenance by allowing pilots to stream aircraft information from the sky; and fewer medical diversions, by connecting crew with on-the-ground doctors in certain situations.
The airline is also hoping fast and free wi-fi will open up new connections for customers.
Qantas says it has a team inside the Integrated Operations Centre that looks after rebooking passengers when flights are delayed and connections are missed, but often passengers can’t get this information until they land.
With on-board wifi, Qantas is looking at sending passengers an updated itinerary in- flight so that they have more certainty and can make any other arrangements ahead of time.
Pretty cool!